Consistency should help Coyotes early

The NHL's 48-game season will put a premium on teams getting off to a fast start.

With so few games, there's not a lot of time to make up ground.

The Phoenix Coyotes appear to be one of the teams in good position to get out to a quick start.

The Coyotes have essentially the same roster from last season, which was the best in franchise history, and play in a defense-first system that might not take as long to get rolling as teams that are based on speed and precision.

Phoenix also has a deep roster and most of its players where active during the lockout, either playing in Europe, the minor leagues or together at informal workouts at the team's practice facility.